Oblates of Wisdom

OBLATES OF WISDOM

The word “oblate” means “one offered up” or, “offering to God”. So one that is to be an oblate of wisdom, is one whom offers up wisdom to God.

This being established then, we see that it must be a prerequisite of ALL TRUE Oblates of wisdom, to first find out what wisdom it is that God desires one to offer up to Him, and what wisdom it is that God DOES NOT desire to be offered up to Him.

For we see in scripture, that there are TWO kinds of wisdom to be found. One kind of wisdom is good, but the other is very bad.

For in James 3:13-18 it is written,

“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” James 3:13-18

In James 3:13-18, we see the contrast between these two wisdoms.

As for the wisdom that descendeth not from above, we see that it is full of envy and strife, and lies against the truth, and is full of confusion and every evil work.

But as for the wisdom that is from above, we see that it is FIRST PURE, then peaceable, full of mercy and good fruits and such.

Therefore, seeing that scripture shows us that one kind of wisdom is very bad, and one kind of wisdom is very good, it is clear that for anyone who wants to offer up wisdom unto the one GOOD GOD, a complete knowledge of these two kinds of wisdoms is first necessary to the oblate of wisdom, in order to be assured that the oblate of wisdom, will offer up ONLY THE GOOD WISDOM UNTO THE ONE GOOD GOD.

But now we must ask, how does an oblate of wisdom do this? How does an oblate of wisdom attain the knowledge of the GOOD WISDOM from above, in order to offer up only this good wisdom?

Like any field of study one wishes to view before entering into it, one must first find THE SOURCE of the subject at hand before he is able to view it in any complete way.

In John 14:6, it is written,

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

Here we see that the Lord Jesus Christ said that He was THE TRUTH.

In John 8:23, it is written,

“And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” John 8:23

Here we see that the Lord Jesus Christ said that He was from ABOVE.

And in 1Cor.1:30 it is written,

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:”
1 Cor.1:30

Without looking into the other facets of this scripture, we do see that The Lord Jesus Christ IS TO BE OUR WISDOM.

So by putting these three scriptures together, we see beyond a doubt, that The Lord Jesus Christ IS THE TRUE WISDOM THAT IS FROM ABOVE.

So here we see THE SOURCE of wisdom above, is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Let us then take a moment to go into scripture to look at this wisdom from above, to see what this heavenly wisdom says, and to find out what wisdom below is, and how it works against wisdom above.

Let us formulate a question to each conclusion of our findings, and then go on to find there answers, in order to help us understand the workings of these two wisdoms.

In John 4:6-14 it is written,

“Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him,(1) and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;(1) but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:6-14

By inserting this #(1),into the scripture, we wish to bring forth the main thing that The Lord Jesus Christ (wisdom above), mentions here.

(1). The living water of life.

And in regards to this living water, the early Christian Fathers show us beyond a doubt, that this is the baptismal living water that flows from Jesus Christ (wisdom above), for example it is written,

APOSTLE PETER

(a) "For thus the prophet has sworn to us, saying, Verily I say to you, Unless ye be regenerated by living water into the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." Apostle Peter, The Clementine Homilies

And again,

(b) "He who will not now come to it still bears the spirit of strife, on account of which he will not approach the living water for his own salvation." Apostle Peter, The Clementine Homilies

And again,

"But when the time began to draw near that what was wanting in the Mosaic institutions should be supplied, as we have said, and that the Prophet should appear, of whom he had foretold that He should warn them by the mercy of God to cease from sacrificing (here Peter is speaking about Deut. 18:15-19, Acts 3:22-26); lest haply they might suppose that on the cessation of sacrifice there was no (c) remission of sins for them, He instituted baptism by water amongst them, in which they might be absolved from all their sins on the invocation of His name, and for the future, following a perfect life, might abide in immortality, being purified not by the blood of beasts, but by the purification of the Wisdom of God."
Apostle Peter, Recognitions Of Clement

ORIGEN A.D. 185-254

"... (d) but it is now said of the water of life (cf.Rev.21:6; 22:1) which flowed from the wound in Jesus side (John.19:34). For Christ has covered the earth with holy and divine rivers. He who pours forth the divine water for the thirsty and makes water flow from his lance-pierced side (John19:34)."

And again,

"Each of you should strive to become a divider of that water which is above and which is below, that is to say, by gaining an understanding and a share in that (e) SPIRITUAL WATER which is ABOVE THE FIRMAMENT (Gen. 1:7), and draw forth "from his heart RIVERS OF LIVING WATER " (Jn.7:38) WELLING UP TO ETERNAL LIFE (Jn.4:14), separated, of course, and distinguished from the WATER WHICH IS BELOW, the water of the abyss in which the darkness is said to be."

HIPPOLYTUS A.D. 170-236

“...but just His own flesh, which hung upon the tree like a cluster of grapes? (f) From whose side also flowed two streams, of blood and water, in which the nations are washed and purified,”

And again,

“But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to (g) the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit...This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which paradise is watered,"

JUSTIN MARTYR A.D. 110-165

" (h) The spring of living water which gushed forth from God in the land destitute of the knowledge of God, namely the land of the Gentiles, was this Christ,"

Now what we see here, is absolutely AMAZING!

Note! As you can see, we have alphabetized (a, b, c, etc.), certain sections of each of the early Fathers statements in order to ease the oblates inquiry into the wisdom that is seen in these amazing statements of the early Church Fathers .

Let us begin with what the apostle Peter said,

Here we see that the apostle Peter has just cited the formula of water baptism in the name of The Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit. Let us notice the water that Peter mentions here, for he says, regenerated by living water .

Here we see that water baptism in the Lord's name, must be in living water, in order for one to be regenerated, (i.e., born again) by this living water.

And in (b), we see that the apostle Peter said,

(b) "He who will not now come to it still bears the spirit of strife, on account of which he will not approach the living water for his own salvation." Apostle Peter, The Clementine Homilies

Here we see that the apostle Peter said that all those who are of WISDOM BELOW, i.e., of the spirit of strife, of the earthly, sensual, devilish spirit, that is of confusion and every evil work, are those who WILL NOT approach the living water for his own salvation.

Here we see that those who are earthly, sensual, devilish, those who are of envy, strife, confusion and every evil work, are those who once they hear of this living water, WILL NOT approach it for their own salvation.

In (c) we see that the apostle Peter says,

(c) "...remission of sins for them, He instituted baptism by water amongst them, in which they might be absolved from all their sins on the invocation of His name, and for the future, following a perfect life, might abide in immortality, being purified not by the blood of beasts, but by the purification of the Wisdom of God."

Here we see that the apostle Peter confirms again, that this living water, is the water that one finds in the Lord’s baptism, the baptism that is for remission of sins.

And here we see that this water of purification, is the water of the Wisdom of God.

The question:

But wait! We must all stop now and ask the question, (and we say ALL, for every oblate of wisdom must be willing to ask this question now to see if it can be answered).

In (a), we did see that the apostle Peter said THAT ALL MUST BE "REGENERATED" (i.e., born again) BY LIVING WATER IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT, or they will not enter the kingdom of God.

And in (b), we did see that the apostle Peter said,

"He who will not now come to it still bears the spirit of strife, on account of which he will not approach the living water for his own salvation." Apostle Peter, The Clementine Homilies

Here we did see that the apostle Peter said that all those who are of WISDOM BELOW, i.e., of the spirit of strive are those who WILL NOT approach the living water for his own salvation."

Finally, in (c), we did see that the apostle Peter said,

"...remission of sins for them, He instituted baptism by water amongst them, in which they might be absolved from all their sins on the invocation of His name, and for the future, following a perfect life, might abide in immortality, being purified not by the blood of beasts, but by the purification of the Wisdom of God."

Now our question must be, if THE WISDOM of God is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, and if THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (God’s wisdom) is heavenly, from above, how can water baptism in The Lord’s name, for remission of sins, be administered using the natural water of this world, when the purification water is to be of the wisdom of God?

Now someone could say, “Oh we know that the baptismal water is heavenly, we just use earthly water AS A SIGN, SYMBOL OF THE TRUE HEAVENLY WATER OF WISDOM ABOVE.”

But to this we must answer, if it is just a symbol, why is THE BAPTISMAL NAME FORMULA USED OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT; did Christ speak of TWO FORMULAS, TWO BAPTISMS, one symbolic and one real, when he said to His apostles,” Go ye into all nations baptizing them in the name of The father and The Son and The Holy spirit?

The question is sincere, and every oblate of wisdom should have the right to ask it. And we will find it’s answer in an African council that was held by TRUE oblates of wisdom in A.D.258.

In (d) we did see that Origen said,

"... but it is now said of the water of life (cf.Rev.21:6; 22:1) which flowed from the wound in Jesus side (John.19:34). For Christ has covered the earth with holy and divine rivers. He who pours forth the divine water for the thirsty and makes water flow from his lance-pierced side (John19:34)."

Here we see that Origen said that the holy and divine baptismal water of life pours from Christ who is in heaven.

The question:

If Christ is in heaven, and the baptismal water POURS FROM HIM, how can that water be in any place but heaven?

The question is sincere, and every oblate of wisdom should have the right to ask it. And we will find it’s answer in an African council that was held by TRUE oblates of wisdom in A.D.258.

In (e) we did see that Origen said,

Here we see that Origen said that the baptismal water WAS SPIRITUAL WATER, THAT WAS ABOVE THE FIRMAMENT.

The question:

If the baptismal water for the remission of sins, is SPIRITUAL WATER, THAT IS ABOVE THE FIRMAMENT, how can the baptism for remission of sins in The Lord’s name, be found in water that is of this earth?

The question is sincere, and every oblate of wisdom should have the right to ask it. And we will find it’s answer in an African council that was held by TRUE oblates of wisdom in A.D.258.

In (f) we did see that Hippolytus said,

“...but just His own flesh, which hung upon the tree like a cluster of grapes? (f) From whose side also flowed two streams, of blood and water, in which the nations are washed and purified,”

Here we see that Hippolytus said that the TWO STREAMS OF BLOOD AND WATER, IN WHICH ONE IS PURIFIED, MUST COME FROM THE BODY OF CHRIST.

The question:

If the baptismal water for the purification of an individual, for the remission of sins of an individual, only comes from the body of Christ, why then do some baptizers bring people to natural water of this world in order to baptize them for the remission of sins, when Hippolytus points out clearly that only the water that comes from Christ’s body, is the water that is for remission of sins?

The question is sincere, and every oblate of wisdom should have the right to ask it. And we will find it’s answer in an African council that was held by TRUE oblates of wisdom in A.D.258.

In (g) we did see that Hippolytus said,

Here we see that Hippolytus said that THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE, THE BAPTISMAL WATER THAT WASHES MAN, IS ONLY TO BE FOUND IN THE IMMORTAL SON AND WORD OF THE FATHER. And we must all notice that THIS IS THE SAME WATER THAT WATERS PARADISE.

The question:

Since it is clear to all of us, that NO WATER ON EARTH is immortal in it’s nature, exempt from oblivion, or imperishable, and that NO WATER ON EARTH waters paradise. How can earthly water be THE BAPTISMAL WATER THAT WASHES MAN?

The question is sincere, and every oblate of wisdom should have the right to ask it. And we will find it’s answer in an African council that was held by TRUE oblates of wisdom in A.D.258.

In (h) we did see that Justin Martyr said,

" (h) The spring of living water which gushed forth from God in the land destitute of the knowledge of God, namely the land of the Gentiles, was this Christ,"

Here we see that Justin Martyr said that THE BAPTISMAL SPRING OF LIVING WATER, THAT GIVES THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD to mankind, IS CHRIST.

The question:

If the knowledge of God, comes to mankind only by this baptismal living water, and if this baptismal living water is Christ, how can any natural water of this world, bring the knowledge of God to anyone?

The question is sincere, and every oblate of wisdom should have the right to ask it. And we will find it’s answer in an African council that was held by TRUE oblates of wisdom in A.D.258.

Oblates of wisdom, let us all go now to look very carefully at that African council that was held in in A.D.258, to find the answer to all these questions. And after viewing it, let us ask ourselves, WHICH WISDOM ARE WE OFFERING TO GOD? ARE WE OFFERING THE WISDOM THAT ENTERS THE GATES OF PARADISE? LET'S FIND OUT.

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